The Rainbow Book: Tales of Fun & Fancy.

SPIELMANN, M.H.

Item Number: 142408

London: Chatto & Windus, 1909.

First edition of the The Rainbow Book. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth decorated in gilt, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers illustrated by several artists including 16 illustrations by Arthur Rackham (color frontispiece, 12 for Adventures in Wizard-Land and 3 for Father Christmas at Home). In very good condition.

One of the leading literary figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration, Arthur Rackham's work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, which were combined with the use of watercolor, a technique he developed due to his background as a journalistic illustrator. "Arthur Rackham’s fanciful imagination gave his illustrations instant recognition, and his dedication to illustration kept him in the public eye for 30 years" (Hodnett, 233).